1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a catch hook for the releasable locking of the backrest connected with the seat part of a vehicle seat such that it can swivel forward, which catch hook is supported in a swivelably articulated manner at the articulated part of an articulated fitting which possibly comprises an adjusting and locking arrangement for adjusting the inclination of the backrest. This articulated part is connected with the seat part so as to be swivelable. The hook opening or jaw of the catch hook engages around a stop for the articulated part in the locking position. This stop is fixed to the seat part. The locking position is secured in a releasable manner by a retaining lever which acts on the catch hook and is supported at the articulated part so as to be swivelable.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to swivel forward the backrest of front seats in a passenger automobile, particularly in a two-door passenger automobile, to facilitate entry to the rear passenger compartment, it is proposed, e.g., in DE 25 14 819 A1, that the articulated part of an articulated fitting serving to adjust the inclination of the backrest be supported in a swivelable manner at the seat part with which the articulated part is associated. Irrespective of the adjusting possibility afforded by such articulated fittings, these articulated fittings act as units which are connected with the backrest in a rigid and stationary manner for swiveling the backrest forward. In the use position, the backrest is supported relative to the normally occurring forces directed toward the rear by frictional engagement against a stop or stops which is/are stationary with respect to the seat part. In order to prevent the backrest from swiveling forward suddenly in the event of sharp braking or collision, catch hooks are provided at the articulated part associated with the seat part, these catch hooks engaging behind stops which are stationary with respect to the seat part so as to secure the backrest in the use position. If required, the catch hooks may be disengaged from their engaged position so that the backrest can be swiveled forward. For this purpose, handles are generally arranged in the upper side regions of the backrest for convenient operation, these handles being connected with the catch hooks via Bowden cables. In the solution proposed in DE 25 14 819 A1, the catch hook which is supported at the articulated part associated with the seat part is in a working connection with a retaining cam which is also arranged at this articulated part in a swivelable manner. A driver acted upon by a Bowden cable is coupled with the retaining cam so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative to it, the driver and retaining cam being swiveled via the Bowden cable in such a way that the catch hook can also be disengaged from its engaged position. In addition to the retaining cam and driver, the known solution also makes use of a hold-back device which is connected, via an elongated hole, with the articulated part which is stationary with respect to the seat part and, via a radial cam, with the catch hook so that the catch hook can be held in its open position until the backrest is returned from its folded-forward position into its use position. The hold-back device and driver are supported via separate force accumulators at the articulated part which is stationary with respect to the seat part. While the retaining cam serves to lock the catch hook in its blocking position, the hold-back device serves to hold the catch hook in its open position during the phase of swiveling the backrest backward and forward. In order to enable the articulated part associated with the seat part to be supported at the stop in the locking phase without play and without dependence on tolerances,.the region of the hook jaw engaging behind the stop has an ascending clamping face which also compensates for wear which may occur, especially in view of the fact that the retaining cam has an ascending contact-pressing surface. Although this known solution functions satisfactorily, it suffers in particular from the disadvantage of a multitude of structural component parts. This results in substantial manufacturing and assembly costs. Even so, its functioning is only ensured so long as the restoring springs for the hold-back device, retaining cam and driver remain operational.